TT supporters are trying to find anyone connected with a memorial at the side of the TT course which appears to have been destroyed by a vehicle crashing into it.

The small stone memorial was at the side of the course at The Nook and commemorated Czech rider Petr Hlavatka from Holodin who crashed nearby during TT practices in 1991.

According to the Isle of Man TT Circuit Memorials Revealed book by Paul Copparelli and Peter Mylchreest, the memorial was erected by Mr Hlavatka’s family and friends in a field on the outside of the course and bore a plaque on top of the stone plinth.

Fellow Czech Jiri Podobski, who lives nearby at Governor’s Hill contacted the Manx Independent recently noting the memorial had been demolished apparently by a vehicle hitting it after running off the road.

‘I drive past it every day and recently I noticed it was crashed into. I believe he was the only Czech rider to have died in the TT races.’

Mr Podobski said he knew the memorial was visited by Czech riders currently competing in the event and added there appeared to be a significant amount of debris left at the site, possibly from the vehicle responsible.

‘I’ve been going past it for about 15 years now so I am keen to know about any family ties. It would be nice if someone who knows something could come forward and then something could be done to repair it,’ he said.

Isle of Man police have said they are completely unaware of who may be responsible or indeed of any damage being done.

Paul Bradford, TT fan and author of the TT and MGP Memorial Book said he too had noticed the damage.

‘It’s clearly something substantial because it seems to have been broken right off,’ he said.

‘I know people who may be able to help with repairing it but we need to know if there is anyone in the island connected with the memorial. It would be nice to hear from anyone and see if they would like some help with repairs. It may be that matters are in hand.

‘It would be good to try and make contact with the person responsible for building it in the first place.’

(19-12-2014, 12:00 PM)Malcolm Wrote:

TT supporters are trying to find anyone connected with a memorial at the side of the TT course which appears to have been destroyed by a vehicle crashing into it.

The small stone memorial was at the side of the course at The Nook and commemorated Czech rider Petr Hlavatka from Holodin who crashed nearby during TT practices in 1991.

According to the Isle of Man TT Circuit Memorials Revealed book by Paul Copparelli and Peter Mylchreest, the memorial was erected by Mr Hlavatka’s family and friends in a field on the outside of the course and bore a plaque on top of the stone plinth.

Fellow Czech Jiri Podobski, who lives nearby at Governor’s Hill contacted the Manx Independent recently noting the memorial had been demolished apparently by a vehicle hitting it after running off the road.

‘I drive past it every day and recently I noticed it was crashed into. I believe he was the only Czech rider to have died in the TT races.’

Mr Podobski said he knew the memorial was visited by Czech riders currently competing in the event and added there appeared to be a significant amount of debris left at the site, possibly from the vehicle responsible.

‘I’ve been going past it for about 15 years now so I am keen to know about any family ties. It would be nice if someone who knows something could come forward and then something could be done to repair it,’ he said.

Isle of Man police have said they are completely unaware of who may be responsible or indeed of any damage being done.

Paul Bradford, TT fan and author of the TT and MGP Memorial Book said he too had noticed the damage.

‘It’s clearly something substantial because it seems to have been broken right off,’ he said.

‘I know people who may be able to help with repairing it but we need to know if there is anyone in the island connected with the memorial. It would be nice to hear from anyone and see if they would like some help with repairs. It may be that matters are in hand.

‘It would be good to try and make contact with the person responsible for building it in the first place.’

Anyone able to help should contact John Turner at Isle of Man Newspapers

who can pass on their details.

I'm back home for Xmas/New Year and noticed the sad state of Petr's memorial on the way up to Dad's house, I don't recall seeing the memorial in that condition at the TT(I pass it every day) and I can't figure out how a vehicle could do the damage as the "old" public road part of the circuit where cars hitting the bank at The Nook were a very very regular occurrence back in the day is now closed and only used for racing events - That part of course is used for various rally/hillclimb/sprint classic car racing events, maybe that is where the damage occurred.

Arrangements are now being made to rebuild a TT memorial to a Czech rider which was demolished in a road accident before Christmas.

The memorial to Petr Hlavatka was sited at the Nook, close to the spot where the rider died during the 1991 TT races but was destroyed when it was hit by a car which ran off the road. 

Trevor Hussey, the Department of Economic Development’s head of motorsport, said he had asked Marlow Construction to rebuild the memorial but the precise position and nature of the memorial was yet to be decided.

Local resident Jiri Podobsky, who lives at Governor’s Hill and is also a Czech, said he had been trying to contact Mr Hlavatka’s family in Czechoslovakia so their wishes could be taken into account in rebuilding the memorial. He has also offered to make a contribution, as a well wisher, towards the rebuilding costs.

Mr Podobsky said he was trying to contact Mr Hlavatka’s family via current Czech TT racer Michal Dokoupil.

‘I sent him both of the newspaper articles on January 8 after discussing the matter with other people here and I am now waiting for his news or comments. I agree the options seem to be to put back the memorial where it was, with a similar design, do something different that might not be damaged so easily, or put the memorial somewhere else altogether.’

Mr Hussey said he expected the memorial would be rebuilt in the same position but the matter was currently open to discussion before a final decision is made.

The memorial was built during the 1990s by workers from the then Department of Transport to replace an unofficial memorial which had evolved in the grounds of the Lieutenant Governor’s house.